All smiles as boy gets artificial nose

Six-year-old Riaan Terblanche is all smiles after receiving a new prosthetic nose constructed by specialists at the Durban University of Technology

A six-year-old boy will no longer cover his face in embarrassment every time he goes out of his house, thanks to a Durban University of Technology (DUT) prosthesis specialist.

Riaan Terblanche of Bethlehem in the Free State was all smiles on Thursday when he left the DUT with a finely constructed artificial nose.

Terblanche was burnt by the tube supplying oxygen to his lungs after he was born, and lost part of his nasal septum and the base of his nose. Terblanche simply smiled when reporters asked him to say how he felt about his new look. His father also known as Riaan said: "He is very happy. He told me he liked it."

A cast was created from the wax nose which was used to manufacture silicone prosthesis.

The prosthesis manufacturing cost was R10,000 but the Terblanches were only charged R200 which was used to buy the adhesive.

Grant Somers, the head of dental sciences, said the service was not always free. "What we do is mainly funded by donors and we are battling with funds. Most of the people who approach us are underprivileged," he said. Sapa

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